Flat hooks .... keep your fender bag attached and also secure your saddlebag system if not anchoring to a rear rack ... both of these functions are critical to rider safety, not to mention that we also like all of our gear to be present when we make camp at the end of the day. This is why we use the robust flat hooks that we have selected ... are they heavy duty? ... yep, but they also have a wide engagement that securely grabs the edges of the most robust front and rear fenders!

Another batch of our Tool Pouches finished and ready to ship! ... our Tool Pouch is a great solution if you're looking for a way to secure and store those loose items. For example I store a folding saw, tire irons, a trail stand used to support the bike when removing the front/rear wheel, and a manual tire inflation pump all in a single Tool Pouch. Kept simple and affordable at $15.00

Don't forget that we also have tank bags! ... our mid sized High Basin is constructed from bomber 1680d Ballistic Nylon and features a spacious main compartment with two detachable pockets for either maps or other extended items you might want to keep easily accessible. The bags trapazoid shape lends to a better rider/bag interface on the bike minimizing that sensation of riding up next to a square block!

OBR ADV Gear High Basin

Set Up with the detachable map pocket for obvious full size folded maps, phones, etc -

and with the detachable gear pocket great for wallets, keys, phones, snack bars, etc-

Sorry all .... I have been using Photobucket for my image hosting and they have recently decided to hold us all hostage. They are asking for a paid membership to third party share ... fair enough other than they want 500.00 a yr

I'm using Google photos too. I found that you have to put the photo in a shared folder and add ?.jpg at the end of the URL to make the picture show up consistently. In my quote of your post, I made that change to the URL, but I can't share it for you.

No worries man! I used photobucket for 10 years, and I have now left them. You can a free blog on https://www.blogger.com and upload your pics to it, and just embed the photo in RDS as usual, and it is free!

From my youth I have always enjoyed spending time in the outdoors. From skiing and snowmobiling to more fair weather activities such as fishing, hiking, car camping, backpacking, road cycling, and mountain biking, I was always outside. The outdoors offered a sense of clarity and an escape from the chaotic ruts we tend to drift into through our daily routines.

My interest in the culture of two wheels has always been one of my strongest. I used to take off for rides on one of my bicycles in search of remote and secluded locations where my destination would typically offer up high elevation views of successive waves of mountain ridgelines. The freedom of the bicycle solidified an obsession that flowed stronger through my veins the more I rode. For me it was about both the ride and the destination.

Moving to Idaho back in 1992 was a blessing. Idaho’s vast open space and miles of trail that never seemed to end provided a perfect back drop to get lost in. Yet again a perfect catalyst for such a yearning outdoor lifestyle. It didn’t matter what I found myself doing …Idaho was the place and had the open space.

It wasn’t until my early thirties before I purchased my first motorcycle, a 1995 Suzuki RM 250. Riding under the tutelage of some seasoned desert racers they taught me the basic survival skills of twisting a throttle and exposed me to the vast amount of country that one can cover in a relatively short period of time. Desert Sage soon turned into Pines and I once again found myself in search of that open space and those vast high mountain ridges.

The progression continued, now with a Honda XR 400 when I discovered the magic of bolting a license plate to my bike accompanied by the minimum kit to be street legal, at least here in Idaho. First it was to connect trail heads from my doorstep and then to connect trail heads to trail heads as I expanded the reach of my new found freedom.

Kirkum Ridge

The thought of camping from the bike hadn’t really crossed my mind yet. I believe it was time spent (probably during the winter months) reading through the many posted ride reports of summer time adventure and country covered. Those ride reports would take me from the cold winter moment and back into the high country and in some cases to areas I was quite familiar. The seed of Motorcycle Camping or as I like to call it Enduro Touring was now officially planted in my head.

As I started to contemplate what gear would be the required kit for minimalistic two wheeled travel I defaulted to my back ground in camping and backpacking. Most of the items found on my list already resided in my camp box bringing the next obvious question of how would I carry my gear? I had been utilizing a selection of small backpacks for my time trail riding, but the concept of letting the bike carry the bulk seemed to make more sense. Research of existing products already on the market revealed a few very good options with some requiring side racks, some not, and all have a diverse list of features.

With present information, and a more modern Suzuki DRZ 400 I had decided that I still wanted my bike to function as an Enduro when not in Dual Sport mode. This decision lead me to look for a bag concept that did not require a rack support system and was easily removable from the bike. COG was paramount and the versatility to simply and quickly remove the saddlebags from the bike after that days chosen riding really made sense.

I only estimate based on the bikes used during design ... a few inches of adjustment can make a noticeable difference in bike handling. I feel it is important for every rider to understand the concept of COG when loading their bike for a trip. Gear position and proper suspension setup go hand in hand.

For the past 25 years I have been working both manufacturing and design within the outdoor industry. This experience has exposed me to differing approaches and theory to creative design and it’s relation to production feasibility. I’ve learned that design needs to maintain a balance between value add functionality and simple flair, all cost money to produce, but not all provides value recognized at the consumer price level.

I convinced myself that I should just make my own luggage. In doing so I would be in control of the design(s) and could keep the luggage simple with functionality as a focus minimizing cost. My intent was to design the bags for myself as I would use them. This decision prompted my next step to purchase a couple of light industrial sewing machines. The more that I thought about it I realized that having long time exposure to a lengthy list of outdoor material and component vendors made the idea even more viable and obtainable.

I first needed to recognize that saddlebags are nothing new … people have been slinging bags over animals and machine for decades. The primary differences between brands being in creative detail. Some have focused on simple and others again along the extravagant. Some designs ride farther back on the sub-frame whereas others ride more over the rear edge of the seat and angle forward. The latter IMO being the preferred as it helps to centralize the load for improved stability and control, but in a compromise in capacity.

My focus for my first set was of simplicity. I had a trip planned and I wanted a single piece platform with easy access compartments, flat upper profile that would make strapping a tent and dry bag an easy affair, and most importantly keeping the load centralized vs hanging way off the back of the bike. It was important to maintain the best COG as possible. Doing so would equate to better bike performance that ultimately would help to minimize rider fatigue by days end.

Design selection, no matter how basic or complicated can be one of the most arduous tasks. You think you have it all figured out, but time and time again your mind is changed. I spun around differing concepts and how the angles interfaced with the geometry of my DRZ. I wanted these bags to obviously fit my current bike and the next. My rough target was something between 35-40l. I chose a depth of 8 in that narrowed me down to approx. 38l. I figured this would be a good capacity that would allow me to carry most all necessities for a multi-day ride while at the same time being small enough to force me to not over pack. Time to cut some templates.

"Wind-chill or windchill, (popularly wind chill factor) is the perceived decrease in air temperature felt by the body on exposed skin due to the flow of air"

Riding on a 40 deg day with winds of 35 mph can produce a windchill of 28 deg .... that can make for some chilly fingers! ... so how do you combat wind chill? ... I believe with redundancy ... (1) an appropriate pair of gloves, (2) some grip heaters, and (3) a set of my 3/4 Grip Mitts.

Our 3/4 Grip Mitts essentially disrupt the air flow and create a pocket for your hands. I find that I'm able to continue riding late into the season with my standard gloves, which allows positive feel over my controls. On colder days I use in conjunction with my heaters .....

With the first sample now cut I needed to focus on the sewing/assembly process. The first iteration consisted of a true saddlebag in that it had the two described side compartments integrated with a sling or cradle panel that would suspend over the seat and sub-frame. Zipper covers would provide enough dust and water protection consistent with the dryer riding conditions mostly experienced here in the Idaho back country. Materials selected for this sample would be an 18oz PVC coated polyester …. Side curtain material similar to that of long haul freight trucks trailer covers. Good enough for freeway use should be good enough for a dual sport application.

Assembly was straight forward for a cut and sew application. Registrations aligned as the bags came together resembling their intended forms. Test fitting to the bikes confirmed that our initial measurements were spot on with all anchoring points being right where we needed them. The bags anchored to the bikes easily and without play. Next is to load up and take a trip!

Once on the road the realization that we were completely self-sufficient and on our motorcycles started to sink in. The freedom we now had to go were most could not while having every possible need strapped to our bikes was more than just cool … it was liberating. The places we could now go and the distances that could be covered all in a relatively short period of time made apparent why this style of riding and camping was and is becoming so popular. Bikes on the move, stoves and food securely packed away, sleeping bags and tent in tow … we were free and loving it!

Prior to departing our plan was to pack the more dense items as low as possible within the saddlebags with lighter goods such as clothing and sleep system within dry bags across the seat. This system worked flawlessly maintaining a weight balance that never once influenced any negative input to bike handling over the next 500 miles. We rode pavement, we rode groomed forest roads, and we rode rough rocky tracks with never a shift or movement of any gear. Now keep in mind that our strapping system had something to do with this. Quality straps and/or bungees are necessary if you want your gear to make the full distance of the trip without bouncing down the road behind you.

Post trip I pondered what I thought would have worked better. One considered improvement to make the system a bit more versatile would be to revise the portion of the bag that drapes over the seat. The initial design of a nonadjustable one piece drape over saddlebag system, while worked flawlessly, could work better if there was some actual beam adjustment to accommodate differing saddle widths.

Revising the cradle portion of the saddlebags to a double strap system and simple buckles allowed for the type of adjustment I felt was a needed improvement. Separating the left/right bags would also prove to be a benefit in simplifying fabrication by reducing overall item dimension equating to less bulk and handling during the sewing process.

Another area of improvement I thought could be made was in the area of materials. My initial design utilized a 22oz PVC coated polyester material. While strong and resilient as PVC is there are some better material offerings out there. 1680d Ballistic Nylon has been a staple within many markets for years … and justifiable so. 1680d is relatively economical, has extraordinary abrasion and tear properties, has a texture similar to Cordura. And a light polyurethane coating on the inside for waterproofing.

A couple of more samples completed and a few more trips under our tires had me convinced that I had a pretty solid Light Dual Sport System. The bags were now more adjustable. All with improved materials that are now double layered and foam lined for padding. Refined saddlebag shape to better fit with bike and rider minimizing gear interference. I was pretty happy with the fit and function of the saddlebags. During successive trips I really loaded down the system and to date have never experienced a failure other than an odd buckle here and there that was more a result of rider error.